Strength training on a calorie deficit?

Guitarjon
Guitarjon Posts: 204 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Guys, when I go to the gym I enjoy strength training exercises as well as cardio. I usually split my work out up warm up, strength and finish with some cardio then lighter cardio while I cool down and stretch.

I'm eating a calorie deficit but my question is as I start to lift heavier will I have the energy and ability to build muscle to allow me to do this if I'm eating a calorie deficit? I get enough protein down me usually although my logging as of late has been a bit rubbish I'm trying to get back on the bang wagon and back into the routine but at the moment I've not really logged all the exercise I do.

Replies

  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
    You won't build muscle on a deficit, but you will maintain what you have if you strength train and get adequate protein. You can build once you've lost the weight and are ready to bulk.
  • parkscs
    parkscs Posts: 1,639 Member
    Odds are you won't build any new muscle but it's possible, at least at first. You can still expect to get stronger though. As for energy, I don't know why not.
  • DaddyDave101
    DaddyDave101 Posts: 72 Member
    Im at a deficit too so interested to see where this goes...

    I think I am going to find out what my body fat percentage is and set a target before cutting the dieting out...
  • AlysonG2
    AlysonG2 Posts: 713 Member
    I'm confused. When you're lifting while you're trying to lose weight, and not seeing the scale move even though you're eating at a deficit and exercising....people say, "Oh, you're just gaining muscle weight." That's not true? So then why isn't the scale moving if you're losing fat but not replacing it with anything? Where is the extra weight coming from?
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    I'm confused. When you're lifting while you're trying to lose weight, and not seeing the scale move even though you're eating at a deficit and exercising....people say, "Oh, you're just gaining muscle weight." That's not true? So then why isn't the scale moving if you're losing fat but not replacing it with anything? Where is the extra weight coming from?

    Move away from the people who say you're just gaining muscle. If you are at a constant deficit the likelihood ANY muscle growth occurs is negligible. Bulk and gain muscle. Extra weight coming from water retention. Next caller....
  • AlysonG2
    AlysonG2 Posts: 713 Member
    I'm confused. When you're lifting while you're trying to lose weight, and not seeing the scale move even though you're eating at a deficit and exercising....people say, "Oh, you're just gaining muscle weight." That's not true? So then why isn't the scale moving if you're losing fat but not replacing it with anything? Where is the extra weight coming from?

    Move away from the people who say you're just gaining muscle. If you are at a constant deficit the likelihood ANY muscle growth occurs is negligible. Bulk and gain muscle. Extra weight coming from water retention. Next caller....

    So when the scale doesn't move for a few weeks even though, theoretically, you should be losing fat....your body is retaining more and more water over the course of several weeks to not show movement on the scale? I just really don't understand. I would think your body would retain a certain amount of water, then start peeing it out, not keep retaining more and more water.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    OP... keep lifting.. youll gain strength and minimize muscle loss... in the end youll think you gained muscle because you'll be lean and have lost very little muscle mass.

    AlysonG2... could be a multitude of things... weight loss isnt linear..plateaus occur... metabolism drops which changes your caloric needs... stress and rest effect things.... diet composition plays a role... there is no simple answer... if I plateau I just raise my calories by a few hundred for a week or two and then go back down... the intensity of your deficit plays a role... the amount of fat you have remaining plays a role... there is no universal answer
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I'm confused. When you're lifting while you're trying to lose weight, and not seeing the scale move even though you're eating at a deficit and exercising....people say, "Oh, you're just gaining muscle weight." That's not true? So then why isn't the scale moving if you're losing fat but not replacing it with anything? Where is the extra weight coming from?

    Move away from the people who say you're just gaining muscle. If you are at a constant deficit the likelihood ANY muscle growth occurs is negligible. Bulk and gain muscle. Extra weight coming from water retention. Next caller....

    So when the scale doesn't move for a few weeks even though, theoretically, you should be losing fat....your body is retaining more and more water over the course of several weeks to not show movement on the scale? I just really don't understand. I would think your body would retain a certain amount of water, then start peeing it out, not keep retaining more and more water.

    This would be true if your lifting routine left you with sets of some static weight...but a good weight lifting routine is going to be programmed for progressive overload...which means you're regularly upping the intensity of your workout...because you're consistently overloading your body's capabilities, it is in an almost constant state of repair which requires all of that fluid.

    When I was losing and started lifting, my scale losses went from about 1.3 Lbs per week as a trend to around 0.5 Lbs per week as a trend...given normal body weight fluctuations it actually took me a couple of months just to see a couple of actual pounds come off the scale. But I continued to lean out and went from a 36 to 34 waste with only dropping about 5 Lbs of actual scale weight.

    I take a rest week every 5th week where I do not lift and only do light to moderate cardio work..I generally drop from around 183 Lbs to around 177/178...when I pick up the barbell again the next week I jump almost immediately up to 186 or so and then level off around 183 again.

    Also, everything astronomical just said before I finished typing...all of that is true.

    to the OP...you can make good strength gains while in a calorie deficit for quite a long time before you would hit that wall and need to put on mass...even just getting back to maintenance calories eventually will give you a good boost before you ever would have to bulk mass.
  • AlysonG2
    AlysonG2 Posts: 713 Member
    I'm confused. When you're lifting while you're trying to lose weight, and not seeing the scale move even though you're eating at a deficit and exercising....people say, "Oh, you're just gaining muscle weight." That's not true? So then why isn't the scale moving if you're losing fat but not replacing it with anything? Where is the extra weight coming from?

    Move away from the people who say you're just gaining muscle. If you are at a constant deficit the likelihood ANY muscle growth occurs is negligible. Bulk and gain muscle. Extra weight coming from water retention. Next caller....


    So when the scale doesn't move for a few weeks even though, theoretically, you should be losing fat....your body is retaining more and more water over the course of several weeks to not show movement on the scale? I just really don't understand. I would think your body would retain a certain amount of water, then start peeing it out, not keep retaining more and more water.

    This would be true if your lifting routine left you with sets of some static weight...but a good weight lifting routine is going to be programmed for progressive overload...which means you're regularly upping the intensity of your workout...because you're consistently overloading your body's capabilities, it is in an almost constant state of repair which requires all of that fluid.

    When I was losing and started lifting, my scale losses went from about 1.3 Lbs per week as a trend to around 0.5 Lbs per week as a trend...given normal body weight fluctuations it actually took me a couple of months just to see a couple of actual pounds come off the scale. But I continued to lean out and went from a 36 to 34 waste with only dropping about 5 Lbs of actual scale weight.

    I take a rest week every 5th week where I do not lift and only do light to moderate cardio work..I generally drop from around 183 Lbs to around 177/178...when I pick up the barbell again the next week I jump almost immediately up to 186 or so and then level off around 183 again.

    to the OP...you can make good strength gains while in a calorie deficit for quite a long time before you would hit that wall and need to put on mass...even just getting back to maintenance calories eventually will give you a good boost before you ever would have to bulk mass.

    Ah, see now this makes sense. Thanks! OP, sorry for hijacking your thread.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
    I'm confused. When you're lifting while you're trying to lose weight, and not seeing the scale move even though you're eating at a deficit and exercising....people say, "Oh, you're just gaining muscle weight." That's not true? So then why isn't the scale moving if you're losing fat but not replacing it with anything? Where is the extra weight coming from?

    Move away from the people who say you're just gaining muscle. If you are at a constant deficit the likelihood ANY muscle growth occurs is negligible. Bulk and gain muscle. Extra weight coming from water retention. Next caller....

    So when the scale doesn't move for a few weeks even though, theoretically, you should be losing fat....your body is retaining more and more water over the course of several weeks to not show movement on the scale? I just really don't understand. I would think your body would retain a certain amount of water, then start peeing it out, not keep retaining more and more water.

    Since you added a couple of weeks, well different topic. You may or may not be weighing(not measuring) your intake correctly, so calories may not be at a deficit. Again, an assumption, but, I dropped a 1/3 of my body fat at a deficit and maintained LBM (lean body mass) over the course of 7 months. 145 pounds of LBM roughly throughout that period. I also lost 22 pounds. I did a combo of lifting and cardio. Does this help? At maintenance or bulking I may add a few pounds of muscle mass, but do I want to? Question for the turtle to ponder....

Categories